Case for keys and the like



June 19, 1928. 1,674,032

W. R. BUXTON Filed Feb. 8, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYSJungle, 192s.

W. R.v BUXTON CASE FOR KEYS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 8, 1925 A 2Sheets-Sheet 2 i MIM/QW ATTORNEYS Patented June 19, 92`8.

UNITED STATES WARNER E. BUXTON, or LONGMEADOW, MASSACHUSETTS.

`CASE FOR KEYS AND THE LIKE.

y Application filed February This invention relates to improvements incases for keys or the'like and'is a further development of the inventiondisclosed 1n United States Letters Patent No. 1,261,692,

u granted to me on April 2, 1918.

According to this patent, the key retaining members are arranged in asingle group and, in practice, this slngle group of members wouldnaturally be used to retain all lo sorts of keys, including perhaps keyswhich are used only infrequently as Well as keys which may be used manytimes during a single day. Vhen one carries a" large number of keys, itis manifest'that, with the ari rangement described,A the selection ofkeys. of either class is hampered by thepresence of keys of the otherclass in the same group.

The general object ofthis invention is the segregation of the keyretaining members into a plurality of groups to enable they user toclassify his keys on the basis `of the frequency with which theyarevused or on any other basis, according tothe Wishes and desires ofthe user. i

More particularly, it is an object ofthe invention to provide in a keycase a number of key retaininor members of a construction such as toenable the userto arrange them into a'plurality of groups or to locateone 3o or more yof them in various locations in the key case to` suithis own convenience.

Another' object of the invention is to provide in a key case having aplurality of groups ofV key retaining members, means for normallyholding each group of members and their keys frominovement out of thecase, said means arranged so that either group of members can bereleased for movement into and out of the case without `releasing theother group.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a keycase, improvedkey retaining members each of 4which is provided with an individualsupport adapted for attachment to the case,-characterized in that thekey holders may be variously located in the case, as desired, andspacedand grouped in vari? ous ways to suit the pleasure of the user.

Another object of the invention is to pro' vide an improved individualsupport fon a key retaining member, consisting of a `one piece metalstamping, provided with bearing means for pivotally supporting a singlekey retaining member and other means for attaching it to the ke case. Y

A further object o the invention is to pros, 1923. seria; No.y 617,788.

vide asupport, of the genera-l character just alluded to, which isprovided with improved bearing `means to support the keyretaining memberfor both pivotal and swivelling movement. y

Other' objects and advantages will appear in the following descriptionYand in the illustrative embodiment of the invention in the accompanyingdrawings, in which `4 Figs. l and .2 are top` plan and front` pose oneof the two groups of keyretaining members;

F 1g. 7 1s a snnilar vlew showing the case open to expose the othergroup yof key retaining members;

Fig. S is a bottom plan view of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is asectional view takenon the line 9-9 of Fig. 7; l A

i0 10 is a vertical sectional view of a F thirda type of key caseembodying the in`` vention;

Fig. 11 is aside elevational View of a closed key case like thatV shownin Figs. l2 or 10 illustrating the shape assumed byI the case after ithas been in use for some time;

Figs. 12 and 13 are plan views illustrative of two successive steps inthe manufacture of one ofthe individual supports "for the key retainingmembers;

Fig. 14 is an end elevationalI view show-r ing a third step in themanufacture of the support; l

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the completed support; and

Figs. 16 and 17 are fragmentary cross-* 1k sectional and frontelevational views, respectively, ,showing the mounting of the supportsin the key case and the mounting of the key retaining members in theirsupports.-

Referring to these drawings;

cording to the broader features ofthe invention, be variouslyconstructed, as desired. f Several different case constructionsl` havethe case forming member of the key case may, ac-` lill been illustratedas examples and various other examples will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Likewise the key retaining members, which usuallytake the form of snap hooks, such as those indicated by le., may bevariously constructed, as desired. The broader concepts otthe inventionare largely independent ot' structural detail-i and relate moreparticularly to the segregation ot the key retaining members into aplurality of grou is. Thus, as shown in Figs. 3, 6, and 10, tiere aretwo groups ol key retaining members A and B and either group may berestrained, or rendered accessible, independently oi the other group byvarious means, which will hereinafter be described in full detail'.

iVhile this feature of segregating the key retaining members into two ormore groups does not necessarily depend on the use o' any particularstyle ot' sul'iport 'for the key retaining members and the invention canbe practised to a, certain extent with various types ot' supports,heretofore used in ordinary key cases, yet greater freedom tor thesegregation is allowed by the use ot' an individual support tor each keyretaining member. By so doing, one can control the number of units in agroup according to his own particular will and' pleasure and, if theseindividual supports are so constructed as to be readily attached to, ordetached trom, the' case by the user, as illustrated, the supports maybe placed at any desired lo ations to suit the coi'ivenience andparticular ideas otl the user.

In order to illustrate one suitable example of an individual support ofthe character just mentioned", reference is made to Figs. lf3 to 1T,inclusive. The support there shown may be constructed trom sheet metal bv romparatively simple punch pre-'s and bii'iding` operations. Thus, ablank ol tlat, thin metal having a relatively narrow strip i2() with apointer prong 2l at one end thereof, is provided with substantiallycircular ears which are oppositely located at the other end of the.strip. The ears 2:2 are subjected to a punch press operation to producecontravities 23 therein, the surtaces ot which are portionsy oitspherical surfaces. The earifl are then bent upwardly toward oneanother. .from the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. M to thatshown by i'ull lines. and in such a manner that the surfaces ot' theconcavities 23 will coincide substantially with the surface of a commonsphere placed between them. The strip is then bent backwardly uponitself, as indicated in Fig. lo, and the prong 2l upturned, as shown.rlhe strip 20. bent as shown in Fig. i5, can he applied to the key casein any desired position. as indicated in Figs. 1G and Y17,---the stripbeing eventually bent into substz-intialij.' U-shaped form and the prong2l passing through the case to hold the device in place. The end ot thisprong 2l may, it desired pass through an opening 2l in the strip 2li andbe riveted in place, it a permanent connection is desired.

The concavities 523 form bearing means tor a. key retaining member, suchas the snap hook L, and, as shown, are designed to receive anapproximately spherical head 25 on the snap hook and permit the latterto swing in a definite arc-like path into and out of the key case aswell as swivel in the socket provided by the ears 22. The head E25 isinserted between the ears 22 prior to the bending operation illustratedin Fig. l-i. The swivelling movement, while generallyl desired, is notnecessarily essential according to all features ot' the invention. Thehook z, is recessed, as at 2G, just below head 25 to provide asubstantially cylindrical portion ot suitable width to pass out ol thesocket in the space between ears 2.2, which portion can turn about itsown axis to permit the swivelling movement. For a l'ull disclosure ot'one example ot' a suitable re taining member reference is made to my U.S. Letters Patent No. 1,439,863 granted December 26, 192:2.

The individual supports, with their key retaining members, may beapplied in many ways and in various locationsl to any suitable kind ot'key case of the .same general class as that under consideration. Thereare, however, several types of key cases which are particularly usefultor the purpose of segregating the keys into groups and which, as isgenerally desired, have provisions made l'or restraining or releasingeach group, when desired.

One ol tliese, key cases is shown in Figs. l to 5 inclusive and will nowbe described in detail. The case l'orming member consists ot arelatively long strip 3() oi' suitable inaterial, such as leather or thelike, which strip is lfoldable along thc lines` 3l', 3Q, 33, and 3l,thus dividing the strip into several scctions. The central section 35,as at present contemplated, constitutes the supporting section 'lfor thekey retaining members and groups it and B, oi the individual supportsdescribed, are applied at the upper and lower portions, respectively, otsection 35, so that the key retaining members of one group, as A, lie onthe front face of this section and the members oi the other group, as B,lie on the back ot' this section. The section 3G constitutes a ilap tooverlie and cover the front tace ot sect-ion and is provided with atl'ap 3i', on which is secured a tast-ener 39, adapted to engage with afastener 40 on a section il to releasably hold the covering flap inclosure toi-ming relation with the front. face ot section rlhe section4l is adapted to be tolded along line 33 rearwardly and backwardly uponthe rear face of section 35 and is provided with a flap 42, whichcarries a fastener 43, adapted to engage with a fastener 44 on section36 to releasably hold flap 41 in closure forming relation with the rear`face of section 85. The case, in completely closed position, is shown inFig. 1 and bot-h groups of key retaining members are then restrainedfrom moving out of the case. By detaching the fasteners 39'and 40, flaps36 and 37 may be swung to the position illustrated in Fig. 4 to" expose"group A and release the keyretaining members thereof for swingingmovement into and out of the case. Meanwhile, group B is restrained, asshown in Fig. 5. To release group B, the fasteners 43 and 44 (Fig. l)are disengaged and iiaps 41 and 42 swing outwardly, which of course, canbe done without releasing group A.

A second form of case, having more the appearance of the usual key case,is shown in Figures 6 to 9,V inclusive. This case consists of a strip 45having a central section 46 and foldable flaps 47 and 48 on opposite fsides thereof. Interengageable fasteners 49 and 5() are provided ontheiiaps and these flaps are ordinarily releasably held together inoverlapping relation over the fl'ont face of section 46 bythe* fastenersin the usual manner. The flaps may, however, be folded rearwardly inoverlapping relation over the rear face of section 46 and releasablyheld# in this relation by the same fasteners, which arrangement isillustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 and is utilized for a urpose later to bedescribed. overlying t e front face of section 46 is a flap 51 which issecured thereto at its upper edge in a manner such as to permit it to beswung upwardly and then rearwardly into overlying relation with the rearface of section 46, as yshown in Fig. 8, the flap 51 being releasablyheld in this position by the rearwardly folded flaps 47 and 48. Mountedon flap 5l near its upper and hinged end is a group A of key retainingmembers. When flap 51 is swung rearwardly as described, this group ofkey retaining members is carried with the flap and held between it andthe rear face of section 46, as best shown in Fig. 9. The key case inFigs. 7 and 9 is shown inverted from the position shown in Fig. 6, forthe purposeof bringing the second grou B of key retaining members intooperative position. The members of group B are designed for keys whichare used only infrequently and they are normally covered by fiap 51 asshown in Fig. 6. The supports for the membersof group B are secured tothe bottom of section 46 and the Hap 51 is normally fastened to the baseof this section by fasteners 52 to hold the retaining members of groupB, and the keys thereon, against movement out of the case. This type ofkey case, as far as its outward appearance goes, is like the ordinarykey case and is operated exactly in the same way, as far as the membersof group A are concerned. l/Vhen, however, a. ke

from group B is desired, the flap 51 is raise turned backwardly andfastened by ila-ps 49` and and inverted all as shown in Fig. 9.

A third form of key case is shown in Fig. 10 and this article'is reallya double key case made up of two standard key cases, like thosedisclosed in my first named patent, which have their backs 55 and 56sewed together in inverted relation bringing the two groups of keyretaining members at opposite ends of the case.

With all three styles of key cases described, itis an advantageousfeature to have the two groups of key` retaining members at oppositeends of the case. The reason for this arrangement will best appear fromFig.

11, which may be assumed to be a case like that shown in Fig. v10 andone which has been loaded with keys and used for some time.V An ordinarysinglekey case tends to bulge at a point about one third Way down fromthe end at which the key retaining members aie located. dicated` at 57.The case, under such conditions, is thicker at one end than at the otherand converges, with relation to the back, from the bulge to that end ofthe case remote from the key holders. By mounting the two cases back tovback in inverted relation, the bulving of one, near the top, is offsetby the bulging of the other near the bottom and, although the coveringfla s 58 of each converge with relation to their acks 55 and 56, theyare approximately parallel with each other and a case more uniform inthickness from end to end is provided.

Although the key retaining members' have been shown in twooppositelylocated groups, as is generally desired, the individual support for eachmember is so constructed that groups or individual key retaining membersmay be otherwise located as may be desirable. These supportsareadaptedfor attachment to the case at any convenient point and may be placed onthe back of the case or on the flaps thereof, as desired.

The invention is broadly characterized by the provision of meanswhichallow each user wide latitude in arranging the ret-aining members tosuit his own purposes and fancy. The invention admits of fleXibilty indisposing the retaining members and offers This bulge is inunlimitedopportunity for the user to eX- y,

press his individual ideas as to how a key case should be arranged.

rillie invention has been disclosed herein, in an embodiment at presentpreferred with detailed variations, for the purposes of illustration butthe scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather thanby the foregoing description.y f

I claim:4

l.. In a key ease,t a housing for a plurality et groups of key retainingmembers, said housing having a partition therein, said partitionsupporting one of said groups of key retaining members, one portion ofsaid housing serving. to restrain from movement and release for movementone group of said key retaining members, and another portion of saidhousing serving to restrain from movement and release for movementanother group of said retaining elements.

2. A key ease comprising, case forming means allording a back and sideflaps foldable over the baeli together with a flap connected to the baekalong a line transverse to the lines of l'old of the first named flaps,and adapted' normally to lie adjacent one side of4 said back and to beenclosed by the lirst named iaps when the same are folded over the back,a group of key retaining members mounted on the back for swingingmovement and normally concealed beneath and restrained from` movementout of the case by the last named flap, and a group of key retainingmembers mounted on the last named liap and normally restrained frommovementout of the ease by said iirst named flaps when. the samel arefoldedy over thev nemoaa baek the. last named flap being` movable to lieon; the opposite side of said back and when soh moved carrying the lastnamed group of key retaining members therewith and holding the samebetween it and the back, thereby exposing` the first named group of,key' retaining members and releasing them for movement into and out ofthe ease.

3. 'lhe combination in a key ease, of a back, a group of key retainingmembers mounted near one end and disposed on one face oi" said back, asecond group of key retaining members mounted near the other end anddisposed on the opposite face of said back, and foldable flaps torenclosing eaeh of said groups.

.e In a key ease a housing, a plurality of key retaining means mountedthereon, said housing comprising a plurality of ioldable sections one ofwhich serves to restrain -from movement and release tor movement aportion ofsaid key retaining means and another ofwhieli serves torestrain from movement and release for movement the remainder ofthe keyretaining means.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

WARNER R. BUX,T()N.

